Electric furnace for treating gases.



Patented Aug. 1, 1911.

H. PAULING.

APPLIOATIOK FILED MAB-27, 1911.

ELECTRIC FURNACE FOR TREATING GASES.

HARRY PAULING, OF GELSENKIRGHEN, GERMANY.

ELECTRIC FURNACE FOR TREATING GASES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1, 1911 Application flied March 27, 1911. Serial No.817,503.

To all whom it-may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY PAULING, subject of the King of Saxony,residing at Vvilhelmstrassc 84, Gels-enkirchen IV, in the Kingdom ofPrussia, German Empire, have invented a new and useful Improvement inElectric Furnaces for Treating Gases; and I do hereby declare the:liollowin to be a full, clear, and exact description oi the same.

1 My invention relates to electric furnacgs for treating gases.

In treating gases with electricity it 15 well known that it isadvantageous to prevent as far as possible loss by radiation of heatfrom the electric flame, by inclosing the latter in refractorymaterials, and also to prevent the passage of gases outside the flame,by arranging the flame as closely as possible to the furnace walls. Suchan arrangement naturally increases the heating of the furnace walls, andthis must not be carried to excess since with rise of temperature the.

walls become relatively good conductors of electricity, at least withelectric pressures usually employed. \Vhere this occurs, the current mayenter and travel through the hot walls, instead of passing directlybetween the electrodes. According to the present invention thisdisadvantage is ob-- vuited, even if the temperature of the furnacewalls is raised to near melting point, by subdividing the surface facingthe flame into a number of areas or elements, each-of which is separatedfrom the surrounding elements by gas passages which penetrate into thewall to such depth as to obviate any risk of the wall acting as aconductor when it becomes hot.

The construction of furnaces according to this invention does notpresent any ilfi culty,'sincc .the outer portion of the wall may hecomposed of an uninterrupted layer of uml'crial. there being no risk ofthe same hccoming conductive, owing to the cooling action taking powerthere. The areas of thesurface elements. or, in other words. thedistances between the grooves or channels, are determined by the eletric. pressure which-is required to cause the [lame to enter into thefurnace walls and to pass out of the same. 1'. c. by what are termed theanode drop and the cathode dr p. depending on the material (lupin Vialin the l'urnacc walls. q||cnll ."thc area of each surface clcmcnt is.lnadc of such length and breadth us will render the sum of the anodeand cathi dc of the furnace walls drops greater than the fall ofpotential in the corresponding length of flame are.

In the'case of electric discharges of fixed direction, along which thepotential falls in the stream of ble flames, there may be employed,instead of criss cross' channels forming a network insulating thesurface elements, channels which produce surface elements insulatedfrom, one another transversely to the direction of the fall ofpotential. Au arrangement of this kind is illustrated by way of examplein Figures land 2 of the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 being alongitudinal section and Fig. 2 an end view. In these figures, 8 and 9are the electrodes, and 1, 2, 3 and 4 are the furnace wall elementswhich are separated from one another by the gas slits 5, 6 and 7. Thewall elements are shown only of. the thickness up to which they arerendered conductive by heat. They are crnnpletely inclosed by anon-conducting wall (not shown), so that no reaction gases or air canpass out through the slits '5, 6 and 7 and consequently the reactiongases are compelled to travel along determinedpaths; for instance, thesegases may enter atthe ports 11, 12 around the electrodes, or throughholes 10 provided in the wall elements.

Figs. 3 and 4 'illustratethe use of transverse and longitudinalchannels. Fig. 3 being a section on the line A-B of Fig. 4 and Fig. 4.-heing a section on the line (1-1) of Fig. 3. The furnace in this casecomprises four transversely divided sections I3. 14, 15. 16 forming ashaft. with horizontal channels I7, 18. 19 and vertical channels 20. 21,22, 23. Fig. 4 also'illustratcs the provision of passages 24. 25, 2G. 27for the exit of reaction gases. it will he understood that the centralpassage. which constitutcsthe electric discharge chamber and determinesthe form of the clcctricflischarg s. need not he of circular crosssection. but may have any other suitable shape. lt mav. for instance, bevery low and wide. in which ase a large numher of holes 10 may heprm'idcd side hy side. transversely no the direction of the fall inpotential. or narrow passages may he uscd instead of such rows of holes.for the purpose of a convenient distribution of large quantities of gas.Further. the holes or passages for the exit of the gases from thedischarge chamber may inclose. or he incloscd by, cooling devices forthe purpose of chillin the hot reaction ascs. This is illustrater? inconnection witithe slots 24 to 27 in Fig. 4.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is 'to be performed, I declarethat what I claim is:

1. In an electric furnace for treating gases, a furnace wall having itssurface next the electric flame subdivided into a plurality of separateelements by a network of connected passages extending to a depth in saidwall at 'WlllCl'l the latter does not become heated suflicicntly to beelectrically conductive.

2. In an electric furnace for treating gases, a furnace wall having itssurface next the electric flame subdivided along the line of fall of thepotential into a plurality of separate elements by a network ofconnected passagcs extending to a depth in said wall at which the latterdoes not become heated sufliciently to be electrically conductive.

3. In an electric furnace for treating gases, the combination of acontinuous outer furnace wall, and an inner furnace wall composed of aplurality of wall elements arranged with air passages between oneanother and said outer furnace wall, each of said wall elements having adepth reckoned from its surface next the electric flaln'c at which thematerial of said wall element does not become heated sulficiently to beelectrically conductive.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY PAULING.

\Vitnesses:

R. J. BOYIZAN, L. A. HAMMERSLEY.

